Strawberry Mark
by blueberry cookie
Summary: Because in the end, it was supposed to be, since the very beginning. - Mangaquestshipping: GoldxCrystal


**Hey everyone! First of all, I'd like to thank my dear friend manhattan martini for helping me out with this story. Without her it would be a mess, and I wouldn't even have started writing in the first place. I love you, bicho **

**I hope you like it. **

**And I do not own Pokemon, obviously.  
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><p><strong>Gold's POV<strong>

She was standing near the counter in her (seductive) black shorts and pink t-shirt. Her pink apron covered her front and was firmly tied up behind her back. The fresh breeze coming from the window had her loose pigtails swinging gently around her face, and the warm rays of sun made her pale cheeks glow, causing a very pleasant image of beauty. Her liquid crystal eyes were shining like a diamond, which made it very hard for me to look away even if I wanted to.

Crystal was indeed a beautiful girl. I'd always thought she was cute when we were little kids, always with those funny pigtails and girly pink dresses, and that was the main reason why I'd started teasing her. But things were different now. Now, we were grown up, we'd become closer friends and we knew each other as if we were twins. She was a much more mature and responsible girl, and I was… well, not _that_ responsible. I was still a kid. The thing is, now I was a kid who had tons of hormones packed into his body, and a kid who knew how to appreciate the good things in life. And Crystal was one of them.

I'd started to care a lot about Crystal, even if I didn't show it. We'd been together almost every day for the past years, and we'd been through a lot. In the meanwhile, she'd grown into a very pretty girl—I mean, look at those lips, that neck, those arms. Look at _those legs_. Every single curve of her body was perfectly shaped and her smile was just gorgeous and –

That was when I noticed I'd been caught staring at her.

"Eyes where I can see them," she said abruptly. I immediately looked her back in the eyes, a smile growing on my face as I enjoyed the light blush on her cheeks.

"Well, you can't blame me. I can't help staring at a _hottie_ like you," I said, smirking, and watched as her blush intensified; it was then I remembered the exact reason why I teased her so much: I just loved the way _I_ could make her blush. My heart melted every time her body responded to my remarks.

"You're such a pervert!" she shouted, looking away; probably trying to cool off her face. "What are you doing here, Gold?"

"Well, since it is lunch time, and to show you how good of a friend I am, I have decided to present you with my company so that you don't feel too lonely," I said cheerfully, walking closer to her.

She looked at me again and raised her eyebrow. "Which means, you're here to have lunch for free," the girl said, with a cold tone and an annoyed look on her face. She then turned back to continue what she was doing.

I laughed. "You know me too well, Crys," I said, with a wide smile, when I finally reached her. 'And I'm glad it is that way',I thought_._ She smiled as well, when she caught sight of my face, probably for seeing me smiling. Then I looked at the counter and realized what she was doing. On the table there was a white bowl full of strawberries. The dark-haired girl had already washed them, so they seemed really fresh and they were wearing a much stronger, much flashier red.

Instinctively, I raised my hand and tried to pick one of the strawberries, only to be immediately slapped in the wrist. "Don't even think about it, Gold." She looked at me with a murderous expression, like she was protecting her children from a wild wolf. "Blue has invited all of us for dinner tonight at her house, and she asked me to make a dessert."

"Don't be so mean to me, Crys—let me eat just one," I said, smirking. "After all, I'm your special guest, right?" I winked.

Her eyebrow lifted, surprised by my huge amount of confidence. "Shut up. I hate you, Gold," she said immediately, trying to cut off my cocky attitude.

I grinned. "C'mon, you know you love me," I said, staring straight into her crystal eyes.

Her face flushed a dark color of pink as she looked away from my gaze. "W-w-well, if you're here to distract me, you can leave." She then took a long, deep breath, trying to avoid the trembling on her voice. "But I'll let you eat _one_ strawberry if you help me work on this dessert for tonight".

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Is work _all_ you can think about, Super-Serious Gal?" She grumbled at the sound of the nickname I had (proudly) chosen for her. It was just perfect. When you thought about it, Crystal's life was almost entirely dedicated to help other people. She was very hard-working and she studied a lot, in order to help Professor Oak at the lab. She also did voluntary work at the Day-Care center, taking care of little kids and raising Pokémon the best way she could. At weekends, she even helped Nurse Joy at the Poke Center.

Suddenly, I noticed I had started to sweat. Man, I was becoming tired just for thinking about working _that_ much. Crystal seriously needed to chill out a little, or else she wouldn't make it until her thirties. Then a mischievous grin started to grow on my face as I realized I knew exactly the best way to help her with that issue.

"Fine, I'll help you!" I exclaimed excitingly, hoping my idea would work as planned.

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><p><strong>Crystal's POV<strong>

Half an hour had passed since I had foolishly agreed to have Gold helping me in the kitchen. Let's just say he wouldn't make a living as a cook. His clumsiness had already cost me two broken plates and a giant puddle of water in my kitchen floor. So for now I ordered him to sit in a chair and not to touch another thing while he was at my house.

When I finished catching all pieces of broken porcelain from the floor, I returned to work. Gold was staring at me, slightly amused by the tired look on my face. I was _actually_ tired, so I decided not to care. I grabbed a knife and picked one strawberry from the bowl. Then I cautiously removed the green leaves of the red fruit and cut it in four equal parts, placing them into a clean, light-blue bowl. After that, I repeated the process with the other strawberries, one by one.

"Do you want me to help you with that?" Gold asked me cheerfully.

"No. You've done enough already," I answered bitterly, remembering all the damage he'd already done to my kitchen.

"I understand. I'm sorry…" he said, upset. At that moment, I looked at him, surprised by his reaction. Normally, he would take advantage of the situation and tease me for being so serious or something like that, but now he was looking at the window, absent-minded and expressionless. I actually felt sorry for being so rude at him. In the end, he was just trying to help me …even if he didn't manage to.

"… I'm sorry, Gold," I started. He immediately looked back at me. "It's better if you step away from this knife now, but you can keep me company if you're willing to," I said, with a weak smile on my face.

The grin on his face was finally back. "That's fine with me," he said as he walked closer to me in order to see me working on the strawberries. The fact that my parents were always away from home when I was younger allowed me to become very skilled with my hands, once I had to cook for myself since the age of four. I had to thank them for that.

As Gold reached me, I could feel myself stiffen from the proximity of our bodies. He placed himself behind me, but he was near enough for me to feel the warmth of his skin. My heart started racing and my breathing became unsteady. I could not deny the feelings I had every time he was near me. Every time I looked at him. Every time he looked at me. Every time he _smiled_ at me. His smile was the most beautiful smile in the world. I will never able of looking away from it. It makes _me_ want to smile.

I'd never told him I felt this way. And I didn't intend to. Although I _might've_ been having some feelings for him for the past months (and although he was a very funny, kind, gentle, handsome boy), he was still one of the most irresponsible, immature, pervert, cocky and stubborn boys I had ever met. He acted like a child and he didn't care for anything else besides battling, sports, and girls wearing seductive outfits. Idiot. He could stare at whoever girl he wants; as if I cared.

When my mind came back to the kitchen, I noticed Gold had already moved and was now standing on my side. I sighed in relief as my body started to calm down. Then, I glanced at him, only to find a pair of bright eyes staring back at me. His gaze went through my own, curiously trying to find out what I've been thinking about. I felt my cheeks turn red and quickly looked away from him, trying to hide both my blush and my thoughts. I focused again on the strawberries and hoped Gold wouldn't notice the embarrassment on my face.

He also seemed to have been focused on something else. "So, what kind of dessert are you preparing, Crys?"

I took another deep breath, trying to put my mind into the conversation. "Hum, I don't know yet. I thought about doing a strawberry pie, but that might take too long. Maybe I should just prepare some hot chocolate and serve them with the strawberries, like a chocolate fondue. Or maybe some ice cream…" My mind wandered, trying to find any other possibilities.

"Hum, that's not a bad idea," Gold said thoughtfully. "Can I make a suggestion?"

I hesitated, afraid of what would come out of his mouth. "I guess."

"How about serving them with stracciatella yogurt? That's how I usually eat my strawberries," he said, grinning widely.

I burst out laughing. "Stracciatella yogurt? What kind of idea is that?"

"What's wrong with that? I swear it tastes great!" He beamed. "You should totally try it! Don't you have some yogurt in your fridge?" he asked enthusiastically.

I tried to calm down and to stop laughing before answering. "I think I do, actually," I told him, amusement still present in my voice.

I watched as the raven-haired boy walked towards the fridge and opened it. He was wearing his usual yellow shorts and yellow cap, but instead of his red sweater, a tight black t-shirt covered his torso—it was too hot for the sweater. I hated to admit it, but Gold had a very nice body. He was slightly taller than me, thin but still muscled. His strong arms were now exposed because of the t-shirt he was wearing, and I wondered how much training he had been having for the past months.

The boy explored the fridge, trying to find the little yogurt package. Once he did, he grabbed it and walked over to the counter again.

"You'll love it," he said as he winked at me.

"I'm not sure if I want to taste it, you know. It's one of the weirdest combinations I've ever heard about," I informed him, an insecure expression on my face.

He smiled at me, and I found that oddly reassuring. "Well, you won't know if you like it unless you give it a try."

He had a point there. Gold came closer to me and gently removed the knife I was holding. I shivered when his hand touched mine, and immediately felt my cheeks reddening because of the contact. After that, he picked a strawberry from the bowl, which was curiously shaped like a heart. Both sides of the fruit were symmetrical and they completed each other perfectly. I watched as Gold somehow managed to pull the leaves off the red berry and cut it in a half. He opened the stracciatella yogurt package and, with a small spoon, covered each half of the heart-strawberry with it.

"Here, give it a try."

I was still not convinced about it. "I don't know, Gold… Besides I have to finish the dessert and I don't have much time left," I told him worriedly, ready to continue working on the small, red fruits.

"Just try it, Crys. I promise you this will be the best strawberry you'll ever taste in your life," Gold claimed confidently, a wide smile lightning his face.

"Hum, I'm not sure..." I said hesitantly. I looked him in the eye, trying to find out if I could trust his word. He probably noticed the insecure expression on my face and stopped pressing me.

"Okay, if you don't want it, _I'll_ eat it." He sighed. After that, he used his spoon to catch his half of the strawberry and slowly placed it into his mouth. I watched as he enjoyed every single bite he took on the small fruit, and wondered what it would actually taste like.

Trying to think about something else, I focused again on the white bowl in front of me. It was almost full. I seriously needed to start working quickly if I wanted to make it on time. I hurriedly grabbed my knife again and continued to prepare the strawberries for their future destiny which, by the way, was not clear yet.

In about five minutes, I was almost done with the entire bowl.

That was when I felt a human body incredibly close to my own. I looked up only to find Gold's face a few inches away from mine. His golden eyes were staring right into my crystal ones, and I could sense subtle signs of amusement, both in his eyes and in his handsome grin. I immediately felt my cheeks blush intensively because of the proximity of our faces, and my heart was thudding so loudly that I was certain that he could hear every single beat. My breathing became unsteady, which made it very hard for me to talk.

"W-w-what are you doing?" I managed to squeak, unable to hide the trembling on my voice.

The grin in his face didn't go away. "Well, I said I would help you. That's what I'm doing," he answered, now in a deeper and more serious tone. He then put his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I gasped as my heart skipped a beat due to his action, and my eyes widened immediately. I couldn't get away from his strong embrace, and I could tell Gold knew it because of the way he was smirking at me.

"Gold, let me go!" I yelled, making a huge effort to control the shivering on my voice. He obviously didn't let go. Instead, he tightened his grip and moved his face even closer to mine. Now my face was certainly as red as a tomato and I nearly stopped breathing. His eyes were shinning like a star and did not leave mine. I could feel the quick rhythm of his heartbeat against my chest, the warmth of his body in my skin and his fresh breath on my face.

Suddenly, my mind blanked out and I decided to go on hold that moment. After all, I didn't want to move at all; I was in the exact same place I've always wanted to be – in his arms.

He stopped moving when his face was barely touching mine, only to observe my reaction. I stood still the entire time, not caring enough to try and stabilize my breathing. I was actually enjoying every second of it, and was afraid of ruining everything if I moved a single inch.

Realizing I had stopped pushing him away, Gold gave me the biggest smile I've ever seen on his face. He then gently placed his lips in mine, and time seemed to have stopped at that moment. He kissed me passionately, and I instantly kissed him back. Our lips fitted each other perfectly. My entire body exploded with happiness and want. His arms were wrapping my body, and I felt completely safe. My heart was racing and all I could feel in my insides was _fire_.

_The softness of his lips; the freshness of his breath; the passion in his kiss._

_The smoothness of the yogurt; the bitterness of the dark chocolate; the sweetness of the strawberry_.

Our kiss could have lasted for hours. Several long, amazing, delicious hours.

When we finally broke apart to get some air, I looked up at him. His cheeks were wearing a light color of pink, his eyes were glowing and his smile was lighting up his entire face. His breathing was also irregular, and he was trying to calm down before speaking.

"So?" he asked, grinning at me and raising his eyebrow.

I giggled, still on his arms. "Stracciatella yogurt it is, then," I answered, leaning my head on his chest.

Because that was, indeed, the best strawberry I've ever tasted in my life.

_The taste of love._

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><p><strong>I'm sorry for any mistakes, my writing style isn't that good. Please, either you liked it or not, feel free to review and let me know what you think. I'd love getting some advice from you. Thank you for reading.<strong>

_**~Blueberry Cookie**  
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